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| | *Atheist [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] made the candid confession: "As for me, I don’t see myself as so much dust that has appeared in the world but as a being that was expected, prefigured, called forth. In short, as a being that could, it seems, come only from a creator; and this idea of a creating hand that created me refers me back to God. Naturally this is not a clear, exact idea that I set in motion every time I think of myself. It contradicts many of my other ideas; but it is there, floating vaguely. And when I think of myself I often think rather in this way, for wont of being able to think otherwise." Source: ''Escape from God: The Use of Religion and Philosophy to Evade Responsibility'' By Dean Turner, page 109 | | *Atheist [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] made the candid confession: "As for me, I don’t see myself as so much dust that has appeared in the world but as a being that was expected, prefigured, called forth. In short, as a being that could, it seems, come only from a creator; and this idea of a creating hand that created me refers me back to God. Naturally this is not a clear, exact idea that I set in motion every time I think of myself. It contradicts many of my other ideas; but it is there, floating vaguely. And when I think of myself I often think rather in this way, for wont of being able to think otherwise." Source: ''Escape from God: The Use of Religion and Philosophy to Evade Responsibility'' By Dean Turner, page 109 |
| | *The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' declares: "In 1885, the Duke of Argyll recounted a conversation he had had with Charles Darwin the year before Darwin's death: In the course of that conversation I said to Mr. Darwin, with reference to some of his own remarkable works on the Fertilization of [[Orchid]]s, and upon The [[Earthworm]]s, and various other observations he made of the wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in nature — I said it was impossible to look at these without seeing that they were the effect and the expression of Mind. I shall never forget Mr. Darwin's answer. He looked at me very hard and said, 'Well, that often comes over me with overwhelming force; but at other times,' and he shook his head vaguely, adding, 'it seems to go away.'(Argyll 1885, 244)[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/teleological-arguments/notes.html Notes to Teleological Arguments for God's Existence]</ref> | | *The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' declares: "In 1885, the Duke of Argyll recounted a conversation he had had with Charles Darwin the year before Darwin's death: In the course of that conversation I said to Mr. Darwin, with reference to some of his own remarkable works on the Fertilization of [[Orchid]]s, and upon The [[Earthworm]]s, and various other observations he made of the wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in nature — I said it was impossible to look at these without seeing that they were the effect and the expression of Mind. I shall never forget Mr. Darwin's answer. He looked at me very hard and said, 'Well, that often comes over me with overwhelming force; but at other times,' and he shook his head vaguely, adding, 'it seems to go away.'(Argyll 1885, 244)[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/teleological-arguments/notes.html Notes to Teleological Arguments for God's Existence]</ref> |
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| | + | == Atheism and beliefs about history and politics == |
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| | + | ''See also:'' [[Atheism and historical revisionalism]] and [[Atheism and historical illiteracy]] |
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| | + | === Atheism and the history of science === |
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| | + | * Science and Christianity: atheists believe that religion is antithetical to scientific research and deny that Christianity was important to the development of science, when in fact the [[Scientific Revolution]] was brought about by scientists seeking a greater knowledge of the world that they believe was created by God. See also: [[Christianity and science]] |
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| | + | Furthermore, atheism has been detrimental to science (see: [[Atheism and science]] and [[Atheism and the suppression of science]]). |
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| | + | === Atheism and political beliefs === |
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| | + | * Most atheists lean politically to the left (see: [[Atheism and politics]]). In addition, atheism is a part of [[communism|communist]] ideology (see: [[Atheism and communism]]). |
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| | + | * Democracy and Christianity: atheists believe that democracy does not rely on Christianity, even though they are clearly linked in Western history and no atheist democracy has ever succeeded (see also: [[Christianity statistics]]). |
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| | + | *Atheists deny that many of the Founding Fathers were Christian, pretending instead that they were Deists.<ref>James Thrower, ''A Short History of Western Atheism,'' 212.</ref> |
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| | == Irreligion and superstition == | | == Irreligion and superstition == |